Moonlighting Ryan Newman tied a NASCAR Busch Series record by winning in his fourth consecutive start this season, a dominant performance in a wreck-filled race Saturday at Dover International Speedway in Dover, Del.
Newman, who has the pole for today’s Nextel Cup race here, won in Watkins Glen, Bristol and Michigan but had not competed in the last two events. He tied the Busch Series record set by Sam Ard, who won four races in a row in 1983. Dale Earnhardt Jr. won five in a row over three years.
“It feels good to do four straight,” said Newman, who is extremely confident at Dover, where he’s won three of the last four Cup races. “For some reason we show pretty quick in whatever car we run. We’ll try to do the same (today).”
But polesitter Newman said speed in the race might not have been his biggest ally.
“Staying out of the wrecks is a big thing,” he said. “Qualifying up front keeps you out of trouble.”
Newman was far ahead of the cars involved in two multicar accidents in the opening laps.
The Dover 200 was a rout, with Newman leading all but seven laps, setting a record on The Monster Mile. Darrell Waltrip led 167 laps in 1985.
Newman’s Dodge beat the Chevrolet of Clint Bowyer by 1.343 seconds.
Reigning series champion Martin Truex Jr., a winner of the last two Dover races, leads Bowyer by 26 points after 29 of 35 races. Truex got a bad break when a cut tire forced him to pit with three laps to go, and he wound up 12th.
Jason Leffler finished third in a Chevy, followed by the Dodge of Reed Sorenson.
IRL: Helio Castroneves won the pole for the inaugural Watkins Glen Indy Grand Prix in N.Y., posting the fastest lap in a 10-minute shootout among the top six cars.
Castroneves covered the 3.37-mile, 11-turn Watkins Glen International road course at a record 133.806 mph, edging IRL newcomer Giorgio Pantano (133.774 mph) and knocking Scott Dixon (133.497 mph) from first to fourth. Patrick Carpentier qualified third (133.629 mph).
The IRL established a unique qualifying format for the three street/road courses on this year’s schedule. After all 20 drivers finished their single-lap qualifying runs, positions seven through 20 were locked in and the top six drivers ran an extra 10 minutes on new tires in an effort to improve their positions.
Unlike the road race last month at Sonoma, where the top six remained the same after the extra session, Castroneves moved up one spot, Carpentier moved up three, Pantano jumped two and Tony Kanaan (133.381 mph) fell one spot to fourth.
Rookie sensation Danica Patrick qualified 16th, but she turned in her fastest lap of the weekend (129.261 mph) despite a weeklong head cold.
Soon-to-be-crowned champion Dan Wheldon, who has a record six wins this season, qualified ninth (130.493 mph).
Formula One: Fernando Alonso won the pole position for today’s Brazilian Grand Prix in Sao Paulo, improving his chances for a top-three finish that would make him Formula One’s youngest champion.
The 24-year-old Spaniard was timed in 1 minute, 11.988. seconds during qualifying on the 2.678-mile Interlagos circuit.
Kimi Raikkonen, the only driver who can stop Alonso from winning the title, was fifth. His hopes of the pole vanished barely three seconds into the lap when his McLaren-Mercedes braked hard and lost nearly 0.7 seconds.
Alonzo can clinch the title by finishing third, even if Raikkonen wins. Alonso has a 25-point lead and needs to leave today with at least a 21-point margin to become champion.
